Spectacle case



R. E. DINGMAN SPECTACLE CASE Feb. 21, 1956 Filed May 8, 1946 w 4 m 5 0 m M 5 w 7 r A m m B 4.

Patented Feb. 21, 1950 umreo oer 2,498,203; srEcm Laesa meninthan. nd1ana-,,.Ba ApglicatipnzMax-fi' 1946?,SLGrial1fHo; 658,963}

This invention in its specific form isa spectaole case in which spectacles may be placed" and retained' with reasonable =security-but-from whichthe-spectacles may-be removed "si-mply by inverting and squeezing the -case with one-hand, this act releasing the spectacles sufiiciently so that they fall from the case bygravity" into the: spectacle: users other hand; In this respect-the invention has unusual advantages over'prior art spectacle cases requiring the prying open of a lid againstheavy spring pressure or fumbling, with various: fastening devices; However; there; is the possibility of incorporating:theprinoiples; of the. invention into. cases intended for other purposes.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the principles. of the invention in the specific for-1n mentioned above, in which the various figuresare as'follows:

Fig. 1 is an end viewshowing the mouththrough which the spectacles: are inserted:-

Fig. 2 is a side view;

Fig: 3: is. a longitudinal section taken from: the line. 3-.-3' in Fig.- '2; and

Fig; 4 is a cross-section takenfrom ther=1ine 42-4JinzFig. 2.

More specifically; these-drawings illustrate anelongated, flattened, tubular-- case I having one end 2 closed and theother end 3 -and respectively'adjacent side edgeportions- 4 open to provide a mouth. The-*case is made of '-'elastic ma;- terial so that pressure on its side edge portions 5, adjacent the open sideedge portions; 4-, causes the mouth to open wider, by elastic-:strainQand so that release of thispressure-causes-the mouth to at least partially close, by elastic recovery. The open end edges 3 have. rigidstruts 6 extending therealong to prevent" them from straining also upon application: of; the:- DEESSLEEE? all; the portions 5.

The material from which the case is made should have the physical properties of leather, particularly respecting leatheris elastic proper! ties, and should have its thickness correlated, 0 its modulus. of elasticity to provide/the elas city necessary to permit the pressure; at th partions 5;; tooause the mouth-to. open wider withe out ausin perman nt. str n. of the ma ial; t her with: sufliqient elasticity-"so tha; strained; by-the pressure, the-:material provides the resilience necessary to cause, the, mouth to close, at leasttpartially; when the pressure is released. Preferably, a. good {grade of genui leather: is used but he artifi ia y r. 5X 10 products urren ly available ubstitute so at me tl s1 providing they-*have:=the: requisite-physical prop ert-i'esa The case: ismade-from a single sheet of such;

el-asti'c materialbent into the described tubularform and so as to provide this form with anelongated and at 'least approximatel'y oval crosssection, with the necessary seam extending longitudinally, of the case along a central zone of one side face of" the case and between its edge portions so as not to interfere with the described elastic strain when pressure is applied at the'portions 5'. 'P referably the seam is carefullymade by beveling' the adjacent edges of the material and adhesivelyadhering these edges together so that there is no increase in the thickness ofthe material at" the seam, this particular seam cooperating with the other structural 'features of the case; and with the elastic properties of-"the material from which it is made,

; so as to cooperatively contribute to the effect described: However; in spite of'this, even such a caref-ull-y'madeseam alters the inherent elastic properties of leather; onany of the" materials possessing-its-physical properties, but this alteration is-renderedharmless tothe resultsydescribedfi, by placing'the seam centrally along one side of" thecase, as describedj,becau se this location prevents the seam from interfering with the elastic strain.

The rigid struts 5 are preferably formed by; longitudinally slit metal tubes, the edge 3; of tl'iegmat'erial being 'placedin the slits and the tubesplasticallydeformed so that their longi tudinaledges-bounding the longitudinal slits-grip the material tightly andrpermanently: The same type oftube is-usedj to close the closed end or thecase; itbeing'indicated at; 6a,

Now t be om s appar n ha a. spe e u r' is provided with an extremely handy case through; the m dium o t e pr nc e o t e Pr r v nti n Many se cta 'e' ear us he sp acles onl occa ona l a dth ca e s of? parieuler. adv ntageto. them- For. ex mp e, s en person may; remove his. s eqta les iolbl t e: temp s nd' arelessly th st the pec cle nte th Qp nm m h without regard. for fastening-S;

Catehfies; orother: complications, because,., there-1 The-nas ese i he nee ec es nto th tstheselastie; sides ouiwa dl; I intot e c sewhere end fastening Be cause the case to automaticai-li'lare individually too thin for the purpos Parly flatten more decidedly at its ends and to vides better elastic properties than if an adethereby provide the whole with a torpedo-like or streamlined exterior. This is not only attractive but possesses great utility, the latter following from the fact that the user can carelessly thrust the case into any pocket without the case becoming caught on its way in. When spectacles are required the user of the case can flip the case from his pocket without trouble,

other hand. All of these motions are quite natural and efiicient and thoroughly in keeping with modern times. No longer is it necessary to pry open the lid of a rigid spectacle case against strong spring pressure, break finger nails prying open glove fastenings, such as have been necessarily used heretofore on flexible spectacle cases, or to go through any of the time-consuming and annoying antics made necessary by the best of the spectacle cases which the art has heretofore provided.

Although it has been said before it is important enough to repeat: the spectacle case should be made of elastic material such as leather with an elongated substantially oval cross-section and with edges that are not sharply creased or folded but which represent smoothly flexed material. The ends, particularly at the mouth, should be strutted against strain such as would otherwise result when the portions 5 receive pressure to open the mouth, this being important because such strain would result in deformation of the mouth so that the spectacles could not glide out of the case as they should when the case is inverted. The open side edge portions l-should extend just far enough to provide a mouth, the

remainder of the edge portions from there, clear down to the closed-end of the: case, being formed by integral flexed flexible material.

, The case may be made simply by forming a seamed tube of leather or the like by flexing a sheet of the leather into a tube and seaming its adjacent edges, followed by the application of' the rigid parts 6 and 6a, whereby the desired contour is automatically obtained, due care being taken to make certain that the seam 1, necessary unless extruded forms are used, is at about the center of one side of the case. This method of manufacture automatically provides the smooth, streamlined, torpedo-like, flattened shape illustrated in the drawings. It is to be understood that the mouth of the case need not 55 completely close providing it closes enough to prevent the spectacle from falling out when the case is inverted without the application of pressure intended to open the mouth.

It is appropriate to remark that like many of the real advances in the Various arts and sciences, the present invention owes its great merit to its simplicity. It represents a spectacle case that has been reduced to its simplest form, the very elasticity of the material, whichnormally interferes with the use of a flexible spectacle case, being put to use in such a fashion that the need for fastenings, clips or other annoying expedients has been eliminated. And

like most simple things, a spectacle case made 70 as described is remarkable for its chaste attractiveness.

As shown in Fig. 4, the necessary thickness of the leather, or other material, is provided by cementing together two layers of material which ticularly in the case of genuine leather, this proquately thick single layer is used. The adhesive used may be any of those used in the related art to cement thin leather layers together. Although the reason is not thoroughly understood, the use of such cemented layers or sheets of thin leather, to provide an adequately thick sheet of material for meeting the previously described elastic requirements, provides a critical improvement in the elastic properties, of the material, over those obtained with a comparably thick single layer of leather.

In the drawings the inner layer is marked la; The sheet material is also shown by Fig. 3 as comprising the inner layer Ia and the outer layer 1, the two being cemented together, as described, to form a unitary sheet of material which may be handled like a homogenous sheet.

1 I claim:

1. An elongated flattened tubular case having one end closed and the other end and adjacent side edge portions open to provide a mouth and made of elastic material so that pressure on its side edge portions adjacent said open side edge portions causes said mouth to open wider by elastical strain of said material and release of said pressure causes said mouth to at least partially close by elastic recovery, the end edges of said open end having rigid struts extending therealong to prevent them straining upon application of said pressure.

2. An elongated flattened tubular case having one end closed and the other end and adjacent side edge portions open to provide a mouth and made of elastic material so that pressure on its side edge portions adjacent said open side edge portions causes said mouth to open wider by elastical strain of said material and release of said pressure causes said mouth to at least partially close by elastic.recovery, the end edges of said open end having rigid struts extending therealong to prevent them straining upon application of said pressure, said material having the physical properties of leather and said case being made from a single sheet thereof flexed into tubular form having an elongated at least approximately oval cross section and with the necessary seam extending longitudinally of said case along a central zone of one side face between its side edge portions so as not to interfere with said elastic strain, said sheet being made of a plurality of layers of said material with said layers adhesively cemented together.

ROBERT E. DINGMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 288,539 Adams Nov. 13, 1883 496,610 Hurlbut May 2, 1893 670,029 Meier Mar. 19, 1901 1,099,796 Gutshall June 9, 1914 1,842,599 Fraser Jan. 26, 1932 1,995,664 Boyes Mar. 26, 1935 2,028,309 Adams Jan. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 103,085 Germany May 19, 1899 76 510,773 Great Britain Aug. 8, 1939 

